Michelle Lost 51 Pounds And Ditched The Muffin Top!

Michelle was having a hard time looking at herself in the mirror until she decided it was time to change her lifestyle and her body for good. Read on to see how Michelle transformed herself through diet and exercise!

I was at a size 31 waist in my jeans and I had fat hanging out over the waist. A gigantic muffin top! I couldn't buy the size 32, this wasn't me. I didn't like the Michelle staring back at me in the mirror. I dreaded walking past windows where I might catch my reflection. I couldn't undress in private in front of a mirror. I was too disgusted with myself. Everyday I would do my hair and face up really nice, hoping that no one would notice all the fat I was trying to hide in baggy shirts and pants.

Being tired of hiding under baggy clothes, not being able to look at myself in the mirror, and health issues is what got me started.

Click To Enlarge.I Didn't Like The Michelle Staring Back At Me In The Mirror.

How I Did It

I started reading Muscle & Fitness magazines and educating myself on nutrition, weight training and cardiovascular exercise. I used to re-write the articles and take notes on the makeup of food and how it metabolized in my body.

I started watching what I ate closely, reduced portion sizes drastically and ate smaller meals more frequently throughout the day. I felt this let me eat all day until I was satisfied. No more big plates of food and the resulting bloated full stomach. I grew up on a farm so the norm was big plates of meat and potatoes and boiled vegetables, and you didn't get up from the table until it was all gone.

I walked everyday at least an hour at a high intensity. I use to stretch and lift weights in my basement. I bought my first weight training book. It was Rachel McLish, Flex Appeal. I forced myself to look at myself in the mirror. When the thought to give up because this was too hard came in my mind, I would just say 'Keep going Michelle, you're doing great'.

Click To Enlarge.I Started Watching What I Ate Closely, Reduced Portion Sizes Drastically And Ate Smaller Meals More Frequently.

My heaviest was 173. In 1985, I was 18 and went from 122 to 173 pounds. Over a year I lost the weight and kept it off until 1998. In 1998 I started back up the scale. I was well on my way back to 173 pounds. I was yo-yo dieting, up 10 pounds down a few, up 10 more, down a few, and repeat! In 2000, at 152 pounds I decided to take some pictures, these are the pictures that are posted on my profile here at Bodybuilding.com.

At this time, I had been living in another province for 8 years. I was unhappy and it reflected in every area of my life, especially my weight. I was avoiding the hard decisions and changes that needed to be made in my life. I took those pictures and decided I was going to change my life. I left PEI, went to school for 4 years, and transformed my body and my life. I also made it a personal goal to put an end to yo-yo dieting and vowed to never go on a diet again.

This is where I took my previous knowledge of macronutrients to a new level. I learned how to combine foods to create a lean, nutritious and satisfying meal that is low glycemic index. I learned discovered the best ratio of carbohydrates, fats and proteins for my body. I learned when to eat starchy carbs and how much, eliminated refined sugars and fast food, and I limit fruit severely. I learned you can achieve different results in your body composition based on the food choices you make. I started ramping up my cardio back to an hour a day of walking (6 days/week) or 30 minutes of jogging (4 days/week). I started a weight training rotation of 3 days on 1 day off, a 6-day a week schedule. Weights and cardio has always been in my weekly routine, even when I regained the weight. The big difference was the food intake and choices, it truly is 80 percent or higher, of your effort.

If you want to see serious results, pay attention to what you eat and when you eat it, or you're wasting your time in the gym.

Today, I put Michelle, her nutrition, and fitness first! Everything else then just falls into place in my life.

Click To Enlarge.If You Want To See Serious Results, Pay Attention To What You Eat And When You Eat It.

Failure - That point in an exercise at which you have so fully fatigued your working muscles that they can no longer complete an additional repetition of a movement with strict biomechanics. You should always take your post-warm-up sets at least to the point of momentary muscular failure, and frequently past that point.

Take action and commit. This is not a 12-week plan. This is a life plan.

What you focus your energy is what you get. Read everything you can about nutrition and learn what works for you, everyone is different and what works for me may not necessarily work for you. Start with a fat shredding program then move to a maintenance program. Experiment with new recipes. Eat clean, cook clean, drink plenty of water daily, get your rest, take a good vitamin and mineral supplement.

Start with a total body workout with weights, one exercise per body part working the entire body at least once per week, twice per week if you can. After about 4 weeks increase the number of exercises per body part and split your routine up. Eventually advance to an intermediate program where you are working your entire body twice per week. I can't stress the importance of weights enough. It will keep your muscles toned, fit and add sexy curves while burning more calories at rest.

If you have a lot of weight to lose do lots of cardio until you get your body fat down to where you like. Then follow a maintenance routine of 4-5 times per week in the morning or after weights for 20-30 minutes.